The present invention relates to a technology which downsizes an automatic processing machine for silver halide photographic light-sensitive material wherein rapid photographic processing with high quality is conducted with a small amount of processing solution.
Heretofore, if an automatic processing machine which develops silver halide photographic light-sensitive material (hereinafter, it may be referred to as simply "light-sensitive material") is that for black-and-white light-sensitive material as shown in a schematic drawing shown in FIG. 17, a developing tank, a fixing tank and a washing tank are arranged from the upstream side. Following the washing tank, the final section is a drying section. Black-and-white film F, which is a light-sensitive material, passes the conveyance path for the light-sensitive material formed by several paired rollers which are immersed in each processing solution in each processing tank. Finally, the light-sensitive material is dried in the drying section and the developed black-and-white film is taken up.
When the light-sensitive material is a color paper, its processing steps becomes different, wherein the developing tank is a color developing (CD) tank, the fixing tank is a bleach-fixing (BF) tank, the washing tank is a stabilizing tank and there are plural stabilizing tanks. Overall, the number of tanks is increased. In addition, when the light-sensitive material is a color film, the number of processing steps is further increased, and the number of processing tanks is also further increased.
On the other hand, in the above-mentioned automatic processing machines, a multi-step counter flow system is known and is put into practical use wherein, as shown in schematic side view in FIG. 18, a processing tank in one processing step is divided into two or more processing tanks, they are arranged in a series and processing solutions and washing water flows counter to the arrowed direction of the conveyance direction of the color paper as a light-sensitive material.
This is constituted in such a manner that processing solution is replenished into the final of plural processing tanks in one processing step and the processing solution flows in a direction reverse to the advancement of the light-sensitive material in aforesaid plural processing tanks so that the processing solution overflows from the most upstream tank to be discharged bit by bit.
In washing and stabilizing tanks, the replenishing amount of washing water and the processing solution can be reduced by utilizing the above-mentioned multi-step counter flow type of processing. In addition, in the fixing tank and the bleach-fixing tank, due to utilizing the above-mentioned multi-step counter flow type, the degree of contamination of the processing solution (in other words, the density of the dissolved material from the light-sensitive material becomes lower) as the process goes downstream. Therefore, desilvering speed of the light-sensitive material becomes higher. Accordingly, enhancement of processing time becomes possible in addition to reduced need of the replenishing amount of the processing solution.
Though effects of reduction of replenishing amount and enhancement of processing become greater as the number of processing tanks is increased in the above-mentioned multi-step counter flow type, the overall dimensions of the apparatus become larger due to increasing the number of tanks and locating them in series. The reason for this is that at least a prescribed curvature is necessary for the reversing section in the conveyance path of the light-sensitive material to prevent scratches so that there is a practical limit in terms of downsizing the tanks. Due to the shortcoming of apparatus dimensions increase, the number of tanks actually put into practical use are 2 for the fixing tank in color negative film processing, 3 for the stabilizing tank and 3-4 for the stabilizing tank and the washing tank in color paper processing. As a result, effects of reduction of replenishing amount and enhancement of processing in the multi-step counter flow type are restricted.
In addition, when the replenishing amount of washing water and the processing solution is reduced, the renewal ratio of washing water and the processing solution is lowered so that the washing water and the processing solution are retained for a relatively long time. Accordingly, problems of deterioration of the washing water and the processing solution and the generation of micro-bacteria occur. Accordingly, it is generally necessary to use various storage stabilizers for the stabilizing solution and the fixing solution.
In addition, there is another system for reducing the solution amount in the processing tanks as shown in FIG. 19, a partial side cross sectional view, by providing a processing tank having a shape in accordance with the conveyance path of light-sensitive material F. However, in this method, there is no change in terms of processing speed compared to conventional solution dipping. In addition, the replenishing amount of the processing solution is not be reduced. Furthermore, there is a great difficulty in manufacturing the processing tanks having a shape in accordance with the conveyance path of light-sensitive material F from viewpoint of the degree of tightly closeness of the container against solution leakage.